A specialist paramedic was refused back-up on the night he died during a helicopter winch rescue, an inquest has heard.

Michael Wilson, 42, was killed on Christmas Eve, 2011, as he was trying to rescue an injured canyoner from a cliff ledge in a gorge in the Budderoo National Park near Wollongong, south of Sydney.

Mr Wilson was attempting a winch rescue when he and the injured man fell to the bottom of the gorge.

He died from pelvic injuries and haemorrhaging while his patient survived.

The State Coroner's Court heard the highly-trained paramedic requested back-up in the form of extra Special Casualty Access Trained (SCAT) paramedics because normal road ambulance crews would not be able to get down into the gorge.